


Winter Home

by Snorlax9



Category: Ghosts (TV 2019)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-01-27 17:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21396025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snorlax9/pseuds/Snorlax9
Summary: Siblings Evie and Oscar are looking after the Button estate during the winter. Oscar loves the idea of the house being haunted but Evie not so much. She just wants a nice quiet winter and ignoring the spirits around her is the only way.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	1. Evie & Oscar

"Are you sure about this?" Evie asked as they drove up the long drive.  
"I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't." smiled her brother. The picture of optimism. Oscars smile could cheer up even Evie on that dreary autumn day.  
As the large estate/hotel came into view, Evie sucked in a breath.  
"You okay?" Oscar asked.  
"Yeah, it's just ... it's bigger that I thought." she sighed, "And older."  
"Come on, it'll be fine." Oscar parked the van next to a small ornate fountain on the driveway.  
"I know." Evie smiled unconvincingly, unbuckling her seat belt. 

"Look everyone! People!" Kitty called out, standing near one of the large windows.  
"What? I thought we were closed for the winter!" Thomas exclaimed, trotting over to join Kitty.  
The others gathered around the window to gaze down at the two living people down below.  
"Alison did say something about some caretakers coming to make sure the place is in tip top shape." the Captain piped up.  
"Thanks for tell us about it, mate." Julian remarked sarcastically.  
"Didn't think you needed to worry about it."  
"Well, we are worried about it now!" exclaimed Fanny.  
"I'm sure they'll be fine. If Alison and Mike chose them to look after the house, we won't have to worry." said Pat

"Seeing anything yet?" Oscar asked cautiously.  
"Not yet." Evie replied as she bragged her heavy backpack from the front of the van.  
"And he told you to just ignore it?"  
"If I want to get better, yes."  
"Well you know what I think about it." Oscar sighed as he grabbed his own large backpack and shut the van door.  
"I know all too well what you think as you won't shut up about it." Evie made her way to the front door.

"Alright everyone! Best behaviour!" Pat said cheerfully.  
"They can't see or hear us, Pat." Kitty replied.  
"I'm talking more to Julian and Robin."  
"Hey! What I do?" Robin protested.  
"Just no haunting, okay?"  
Robin only grunted in response. Neither a yes or a no.

Oscar unlocked the front door and the two of them shuffled into the foyer. Evie dropped her bag and continued into the main hall. Oscar spied a letter taped to the inside of the door and grabbed it while trailing his sister.  
"Definitely bigger than I thought." Evie said  
"More space for the both of us. You're always telling me to go away." Oscar started opening the letter.  
"What letter say?" asked an unfamiliar voice.  
Evie spun around to see a small crowd had formed behind her brother. She stopped herself from reacting, as she had learned to do for the past six months. 'It's not real.' she thought, 'It's all in your head.'  
"W-what does the letter say?"  
" 'Welcome to Button Manor. Enclosed is a list of maintenance need throughout winter. We hope you are up to the task.  
\- Sincerely Alison and Mike.  
P.S. Hope the ghosts don't give you too much trouble!' "  
"So there are ghosts that hang about!" Oscar said excitedly, "That'll be fun right?"  
"Oh he seems nice." Mary said.  
"Fun for you." Evie muttered looking at her feet, trying not to feel the prying eyes on her.  
Oscar sighed and went to his sister, placing his hands reassuringly on her shoulders.  
"Do you see any ghosts right now?"  
A murmur broke out from the curious group behind Oscar.  
Evie knew that her brother would bother her the rest of the winter if she said yes. So she did what she had to to give her some peace.  
"No, I don't see anything."  
A disappointed noise emitted from the crowd.  
Julian piped up, "She probably one of those quacks that scams people into thinking she can talk to the dead."  
Annoyed at that, Evie added, "And if I did see anything I'd be sure to do exactly as my therapist says and ignore it the best I can."  
"So wait, can she see us?" asked Thomas.  
"Not sure." said Pat.  
"Want me to test?" asked Robin with a little grin on his face.  
"No, Robin, that wouldn't be very nice. She's clearly gone through something, maybe we should just leave her alone." Pat suggested.  
"No fun." Robin muttered walking away to find something else to do.  
"What should we do now?" asked Kitty, sounding disappointed at the lost opportunity of a new friend.  
"Well," started the Captain, "there's one thing we can do. Observe. They're here to maintain the house while Alison and Micheal are away. We should make sure they do."  
Evie strained to ignore what her visions were saying. They were never helpful anyway. Oscar pulled her into a tight hug.  
"And what, pray tell, are we to do if they make a mess of things?" Fanny objected.  
"We can test if this woman really can see ghosts and is just ignoring us. If she is ignoring us, we can drive her out. Just like with Alison." replied the Captain.  
"Didn't quite work that time." Julian muttered.  
"And if she can't see us and they do something wrong?" Pat asked.  
"I guess we'll just have to wait until Alison gets back to tell her." the Captain sighed.

"Come on. Let's go pick rooms." Oscar grinned, "Bagsy one with a garden view!"  
He raced out of the room and up the stairs.  
"Good lord, hope he doesn't mean my room." the Captain said, with just a hint of optimism in his voice as he followed Oscar.  
Evie sighed and walked to the foyer to grab her bag. The ghosts followed closely.

"Evie! Found the perfect room for you!" Oscar called out.  
"Oh! I hope it's my room!" Kitty exclaimed as the group climbed the stairs.  
"Coming!" Evie yelled up.  
She reached the top of the stairs.  
"Oscar?"  
"Third on down!" Oscar yelled back.  
"But that's-" Thomas started.  
Evie reached the third bedroom, finding Oscar standing at the large window.  
"Look, a great view for inspiration." Oscar smiled.  
"Hush my spirit!" Thomas exclaimed, "Is this gentlewoman a fellow artist?"  
"I though you wanted a better view?" Evie asked Oscar.  
"I do. But from here you can see the lake." Oscar pointed, "Plus it's got the window seat thingy so you can sit and sigh as much as you wish."  
Evie sighed and smiled at her silly brother.  
"Just like that!" Oscar grinned.  
"Are they not sharing a rooms then?" asked Mary.  
Evie noted that.  
"So now that we've decided my room," Evie dropped her bag on the floor, "shall we find you quarters, dear brother of mine?"

A murmur of 'Oh! I see.' and 'That makes sense.' filled the room.  
"Well, dear sister," Oscar imitated, "you should stay and get settled, maybe set up your supplies, or have a nap. I'll be able to find my way."  
Oscar left the room and with him the curious ghosts, chatting amongst themselves as to who would be lucky or unlucky in receiving this new roommate.  
Evie sighed with relief and kneeled down on the floor to start unpacking. But from the open doorway she could hear the voice again.  
"Thomas," said a gruff voice, "girl is in your room."  
Evie heard a softer voice reply, like a melody.  
"Yes, it seems my room is perfect for her inspiration." he sounded almost proud.  
Evie had unpacked her comfiest pyjamas and that nap Oscar mentioned was sounding very nice.  
"Where you gon sleep?" the gruff voice asked.  
Thomas hesitated. "Well, I-", he felt hot under the stare of Robin.  
"I shall sleep on the lounge, I suppose." He left with a sigh.  
Evie stood up with her pyjamas in hand and faced the doorway. The gruff voice belonged to a caveman. She hadn't seen one of those before. He saw her look at him and simply pointed in the direction that Thomas had run off and said, "You thank me for that later."  
Evie shut the door without replying.  
'They're not real, Evie. They're not real.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First fan fiction in over seven years! Feedback would be appreciated ^_^


	2. Exploring

After her nap, Evie woke to the sounds of loud singing that she was all too familiar with. Oscar must be in the shower. She huffed as she got out of bed and put on her slippers.  
'Maybe,' she thought, 'I should set up my supplies. Well, some of them.'  
She rifled through her bag until she found her well worn notebook. Evie's room had a lovely vanity set up, so she started emptying her bits and bobs on the surface.  
"Oh good! You're awake!" a cheerful voice said behind her.  
She jumped at the suddenness but since it wasn't her brothers voice, she ignored it.  
"Oh that's right, you're ignoring us." the voices owner came into view behind Evie in the vanity mirror. Evie caught a glimpse before looking away. This one looks like a Georgian noblewoman. Evie wondered if that meant something.  
"But that doesn't mean we can't be friends!"  
Evie remained silent as she organised her stationary on the vanity.  
"My name is Kitty. Pleasure to meet you!"  
Evie opened her notebook and started writing.  
"So you do write! Thomas will be thrilled!" Kitty beamed.  
Evie stayed silent.  
"So, what do you write? Poems? Stories? Love letters?"  
Kitty looked over Evies shoulder at the notebook.

\- Kitty, Georgian woman, loves to talk, bubbly, cheerful, wants to be my friend.

The door to Evies bedroom swung open and Evie quickly closed her notebook. Her brother stood in the doorway still drying his wet hair, and only wearing a towel.  
Kitty gasped and thought she was going to faint.  
Evie grimace, "Oh gross, I just woke up."  
Oscar chose to ignore her comment.  
"Doing some writing?"  
Damn, she had been caught.  
"Yeah," Evie sighed and thought of a cover quickly, "Doctor said to write down my feelings. Might help me not see things."  
"How is that suppose to help?" Oscar doubted.  
"We have a good theory that the people I see are just extensions of my subconscious. Bit out there, I know," Evie chuckled seeing her brothers expression, "but it has been helping. I think."  
"Right, well, I'm gonna put on some clothes then go exploring this place. Wanna join?"  
"Can I stay in my pyjamas?" asked Evie.  
"Course! I was just gonna go put mine on." Oscar smiled. As he left, Kitty, as if in a trance, followed him out.  
Evie waited until his footsteps were quiet and opened her notebook again. Who else did she see?  
She wrote down caveman though she wan't sure if he had a name or not. And Thomas. Evie wasn't sure what his personality was like yet so she left a blank space next to his name.  
When she heard footsteps again she stood up and grabbed her notebook.  
"That was quick." But as she turned she nearly screamed when she saw a headless figure walking past her open door. When it was out of sight, Evie let out the breath she was holding and quickly opened her notebook to write down what she saw.

Oscar, when dressed in equally comfy pyjamas, grabbed Evie from her room and led her downstairs. He noticed that she looked a bit shaken but thought best not to ask. She would tell him if something was wrong. Hopefully.  
"I'd thought we should check out the basement. The boiler is the first thing on our list to maintain."  
Evie just nodded. She spied someone in the corner of her eye as they descended the stairs.  
"Ah yes, here she is." the figure said, "Now you listen here, if anything goes wrong in this household I will personally make sure that you get a right thrashing."  
Evie continued on, her eyes concentrating on where her feet were stepping. "We will not tolerate laziness or abandonment of this house!"  
Evie could feel the figure following her down the small corridor where her brother was leading her.  
"So what maintenance needs to be done to the boiler? I want to make sure I don't screw anything up." Evie said slightly louder than she would have. That seemed to satisfy the voice behind her.  
"Looks like we just need to make sure it doesn't overwork itself during the winter." Oscar replied opening the door to the dark cellar.  
"Ooooooh spooky." Oscar grinned at Evie. Evie rolled her eyes and reached over to the light switch and turned on the cellar light. "Not so spooky." she smiled at Oscar.  
But when she looked down and saw a crowd of people looking up she gasped. "What? What is it?" Oscar asked. Evie swallowed and looked at the pock-marked faces looking up at her curiously.  
"Nothing. I just .... I thought I saw a rat."  
"Who's this then?" asked one of the cellar people.  
"Come on, let's go check out the boiler. I'm sure that rat won't bother us." Oscar said as he climbed down the cellar stairs. The crowd of people letting him pass through to the boiler.  
"You coming?"  
Evie closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes, I suppose."  
She slowly made her way down stairs, ignoring the prying eyes.  
"Is she okay? She's going a bit slow." one said.  
"Maybe she doesn't like cellars."  
"Why wouldn't she like cellars?"  
When she reached the floor Evie saw a large tarp covering a portion of the floor. "Ummm Oscar?" she pointed, "What's that? Do we need to worry about it?" Oscar walked back and looked at the tarp.  
"Ohhhhhh yeah, about that," he looked sheepishly, "this house was kind of, maybe, built on a plague pit?"  
"Definitely built on a plague pit." one of the figures said.  
"And you're only just telling me this now?" Evie said angrily.  
"I didn't want you to worry."  
Evie sighed. "Let's just look at the boiler, shall we?"  
Oscar brought her past the large tarp, over to the boiler.  
"This is it." Oscar sighed. "It's a bit older than I'm used to working on but I think I can manage."  
"Anything I need to know or should I just call you if something goes wrong?"  
"It looks stable. Let's say if that pilot light goes out, give me a shout." Oscar grinned, "I'm a poet and I didn't even realise."  
Evie glance back at the route back to the stairs. The crowd had followed them.  
"Well, what's next on our list?"  
"Kitchen, I think. Which is good because I'm starving."  
Evie hesitated, "After you then."  
She followed Oscar closely as they made their way through the cellar and back up the stairs. She let Oscar shut off the light and close the door, but not before hearing a voice calling up, "Come again soon!" 

"What have we got to eat?" Evie asked as Oscar rummaged through the fridge. Evie had taken up a spot at the kitchen table and opened her notebook again. 

\- Plague victims in basement 

"Well, seems like they left us with not a lot. Unless you like canned kidney beans."  
Evie made a face and returned to her book.  
"Do you think we could get pizza delivered this far out?" Oscar asked.  
"Not sure, but even if we could it'd probably be cold by the time it gets here."  
"Hmmmm, what should we do? The shops are already closed."  
"Why don't he check the pantry?" asked Mary.  
Evie jumped slightly and looked up. A medieval woman covered in soot pointed to the door in the corner of the kitchen. Better write that one down.  
"Is there a pantry?" Evie asked, lucky that Oscar was still searching the near empty fridge so that he didn't see her jump. Oscar looked around and spied the door. "Let's see."  
When he opened it, he gave an excited shout then a disappointed "Oh."  
"What is it?"  
"It is a pantry but it's just filled with soup. Like LOTS of soup."  
"At least we have dinner for tonight." Evie replied.  
"Yeah, but soup is awful. It's the wettest of all foods."  
Evie chuckled and closed her notebook. "Want me to cook tonight? We can go shopping tomorrow for some less wet food."  
"Sure, did you want me to start unpacking the van?"  
"It's getting dark, so only the essentials."  
"T.V. Gotcha." Evie smiled after her brother as he left the room and went over to the pantry to pick a soup for tonight. Chunky vegetable sounded the least wet. She grabbed the can and put it next to the stove.  
"Now where's a pot I can use?" she wondered out loud.  
"Second cupboard on the left love." Mary replied.  
Evie sighed, and against her better judgement, looked in the second cupboard on the right. And fell back with a scream.  
"Oh hello! You're new aren't you. Don't suppose you could help me out at all?" said the severed head.  
"Humphrey! You gave her a right fright you did!" Mary ran over and picked up Humphrey.  
"Sorry about that, Robin accidentally kicked me in there." Mary turned and smiled to Evie. "I'll see to it that he be out of your way."  
Mary left the kitchen and Evie exhaled loudly. Looking at the cupboard where the severed head was, she saw the perfect pot to make some soup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I have no clue about boilers?


	3. First Night

"And you're sure it was a rat that you saw in the kitchen?" Oscar picked at his soup with his spoon.  
"Yes. I'm positive." Evie replied with a sharp tone, eyes focused on the nature documentary on tv. Oscar had set up a mini entertainment system in the living room downstairs. Alison and Mike had furnished the room to be a cozy comfortable common area for hotel guests with plenty of chairs around the place. Most of the chairs were around a coffee table near the center so Oscar took it upon himself to set up there.  
"It's just Mike didn't tell me about any rats that we would have to deal with so-"  
"They must have moved in right after they left." Evie snapped. "Look, can you just be quiet and eat your soup?"  
"Ooooooooh!" cooed the ghosts sitting around them.  
"This one's got a bit of a temper." Julian remarked.  
"Humphreys did gives her a bit of a fright before." Mary said.  
"Sorry again!" Humphrey's head called out from a nearby table.  
"Listen, Eves, " Oscar said turning to his sister, "You know I only want to help you."  
"Such a kind heart!" Kitty sighed putting her hands to her chest.  
"And if you promise to say when you're seeing things, I promise to stop saying that they're ghosts."  
"But we are ghosts, young man." Fanny piped up.  
"Promise?" Evie finally turned to her brother.  
"I promise." he gave her a slightly awkward side hug since the both of them were still holding their soup.  
"What a beautiful scene." Thomas sighed.  
"What does that mean for us though?" Kitty asked the group.  
"Means we've lost an ally." said the Captain.  
"I can hear them now." Evie confessed.  
"What are they saying?"  
"Nothing that makes sense to me at the moment."  
"Think your therapist can help decipher?"  
Evie nodded.  
"Good thing you've got an appointment this week then." Oscar smiled.  
Evie wished she had Oscars ability to see the bright side of damn near everything. She'll just have to settle with hearing about it from him.  
"Look guys!" Pat sat up excitedly and pointed to the tv screen, "Penguins!"  
The group let out another 'Ooooooooh!' and stayed very quiet for the rest of the program. Besides Robin letting out a small 'I could beat that' whenever a new animal came on the screen. 

When Evie felt herself struggling to keep her eyes open, she decided it was probably time for bed. Oscar agreed and they began to trudge upstairs.  
"You can't just leave dirty dishes out all night!" yelled Fanny. Evie stopped mid-step.  
"We should put our dishes away."  
"We can do it in the morning." Oscar yawned.  
"I'll go put them away then." Evie started to turn.  
"No, don't." Oscar sighed, "You cooked, I'll clean up. Go get some sleep." He made his way back to the lounge room.  
"Alright, goodnight." Evie called out as she reached her bedroom. It was quiet in her room. A good sign. Luckily for Evie she was already in her pyjamas so she just slipped into bed and quickly fell asleep.  
Oscar was on his way to falling asleep at the kitchen sink, unknowingly being watched by Kitty. There must be some way to convince him that she exists. She ran out of the kitchen and came back pulling an annoyed looking Julian with her.  
"Kitty, I can only make things move. I can't talk to him."  
"Well, get his attention then!"  
Julian spotted the empty soup can next to the stove. He went over, put all his concentration in his index finger and slowly made the tin can fall to the floor. Oscar jumped at the noise, looked over and saw the can. Curious. He picked it up and placed it on the counter again. This time he saw it slowly move towards the edge of the counter and fall off again. Filling with excitement, Oscar said "I'll be right back." and quickly made his way to his room to retrieve some paper and a pen.  
Oscar was out of breath when he rushed back to the kitchen. He placed the piece of paper on the table where Kitty and Julian could see it. There was a line down the middle with Yes on the left and No on the right. Oscar carefully placed the pen in the middle.  
"Okay," he said though an excited grin, "are you a ghost?"  
"I really can't be bothered with this." Julian mumbled.  
"Oh do answer him, Julian." Kitty exclaimed.  
Julian, with some struggle, moved the pen to Yes. Oscar cheered with joy. Kitty giggle along. Julian just rolled his eyes at the pair of them. Oscar quickly moved the pen back to the center of the paper.  
"Is there more than one of you?"  
Yes  
"Can you go through walls and stuff?"  
Yes  
Oscar hesitated.  
"Can Evie see you?"  
Kitty looked to Julian.  
"You know, Kitty," Julian slyly started to slink away from the kitchen table, "Pat did say for us to leave them alone, so-"  
"Julian! You can't leave that question unanswered."  
Julian ran off before Kitty could reprimand him further. Her heart broke seeing Oscar slowly realising he wouldn't be answered, crumpling up the paper and tossing it into the bin. 

Evie woke in a peaceful manner, with the sun softly shining through her windows, and the sounds of bird chirping in the distance. She smiled to herself. Today could be a good one.  
She turned over to maybe catch a few more minutes of sleep and came face to face with a face. She let out a yelp before covering her mouth.  
"Good morning, my love." Thomas knelt next to Evies bed, staring at her.  
Evie shut her eyes and tried to force herself back to sleep.  
"I'm sorry if I disturbed you but my pettish heart cannot bear to not know you."  
'Go to sleep, Evie, go to sleep.'  
"You may think me an oaf with my ready affection and rightly so. But a fellow wordsmith like yourself would know that passion runs true throughout."  
Evie turned herself to face the other wall. No good. Thomas ran around the bed to face her again.  
"I apologise if this sounds like babble but I am overcome with emotions."  
Evie got fed up of trying to sleep and decided to just get up and grab breakfast. If she could even hear herself think.  
"Hey!"  
Evie jumped when she heard Robins voice. Oh god not another one. It's too early for both of them. Evie busied herself with her slippers.  
"You say you sleep downstair." Robin sounded cross.  
"Well, yes, I did sleep downstairs-"  
"Why you in girls room?"  
"I was just saying goodmorn-"  
"Pat said leave alone."  
"I know but-"  
"Leave alone!"  
Thomas left with a huff. Evie breathed a sigh of relief as her room became quieter. She looked up from her slippers and saw Robin staring at her. She knew it was against her therapists wishes but she couldn't help herself.  
"Thank you." she whispered.  
Robin gave a little smile, "No problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will confirm whose room Oscar chose to sleep in ^_^


	4. Picnic

Evie met up with Oscar in the kitchen and saw he was already dressed. Usually that meant he either just got in from a night out or got a call about a job.  
"Where are you off to?"  
"Job in the village. Burst pipe." Oscar said with a mouth full of toast. "Be back after lunch."  
Oscar raced out of the kitchen, still eating his toast on the way.  
Fanny grimaced, "How disgusting!"  
Evie fixed herself a bowl of cereal and sat at the kitchen table.  
"Oh looks, shes got the noisy food." Mary ran over and leaned closer to hear her rice bubbles snap, crackle, and pop. Kitty ran over to join in.  
"Pat told us all about this before." Kitty smiled at Evie.  
Evie tucked into her cereal as the Captain entered the kitchen.  
"Morning all!"  
"You're surprisingly chipper. Thought you would be in a terrible mood from having that man stay in your room." Fanny mentioned.  
"What? Oh, yes, well," the Captain coughed, "I'm happy that he left today so I can have my room to myself, you see."  
The Captain spotted Evie at the table eating breakfast. "Still ignoring us?"  
"Seems so." Fanny replied.  
"She did write some things about us though." Kitty lifted her head from the rice bubbles.  
"Really? What did she write?" asked the Captain.  
"She wrote my name and some things about me." Kitty smiled, "Maybe she does that to all her friends."  
"Ah, I see. She's gathering information. She's a spy." the Captain narrowed his eyes at Evie.  
"And why on earth would she be spying on us?" asked Fanny.  
The Captain hesitated, "Well, I don't know. But I can assure you," he pointed his stick at Evie, "we will found out."  
Just then Pat entered the kitchen, followed by Robin, followed by Thomas.  
"He no leave alone!"  
"I did leave her alone! I was simply greeting her!"  
"You perve on her!"  
"How dare you accuse me of such behaviour!"  
"Seen you perve on Alison."  
"Tha- that was different!"  
"Guys! Stop it! Both of you!" Pat screeched. "Thomas, no more saying hello!"  
Thomas's shoulders dropped as Pat turned around and saw Evie at the table, "Oh hello!"  
'Just get through breakfast and then you can leave the kitchen. Don't let them drive you out.' Evie thought to herself.  
"Still ignoring us?" Pat asked the group. They all nodded.  
"She not ignore me before."  
"Really? What did she say? Did she mention me?" Kitty asked frantically.  
"She say 'thank you' after I make Thomas leave."  
"Anyone would be thankful for that." the Captain murmured.  
Evie finished her cereal in record time. Quickly placing her bowl in the sink, she left the kitchen in a hurry and returned to her room. Rummaging through her bag she found her old beaten up laptop that she refuses to replace. When she saw that she wasn't connected to the wifi, she sighed. It was most likely written down on one of the maintenance sheets but Evie wasn't sure if she wanted to risk seeing anyone else. It was quiet in her room. At least for now. Maybe she should savour it.  
Evie made her way to the window bay and sat down. It did look like a nice day outside. Sunny blue skies. She looked out at the grounds of the estate and saw the lake. If it was as nice as it looked, she might go visit it today while the weather was nice.  
Evie caught a glimpse of some movement and immediately regretted looking. The one with no pants on was sunbathing. Evie closed her eyes and willed herself to get the image out of her head. She'll avoid that one on the way to the lake hopefully. 

It was close to midday when Evie left her room. And unsurprisingly she found a small group waiting for her.  
"Good lord, what is she wearing?" the Captain asked slightly shocked.  
Evie sighed and looked down at her choice in clothing. She thought it would be nice enough outside to wear a tank top with a pair of shorts. Now she wasn't so sure. She went back in her room and chucked on a large knitted cardigan.  
"Looks warmer now." Robin pointed.  
"It looks like she's going swimming." countered the Captain.  
"She looks beautiful." sighed Thomas.  
Evie was walking down the stairs when her phone rang.  
"Hey Oscar. Finished already?"  
"Yeah, wasn't too bad. I'm near the shops now, what did you want me to get?"  
"What's he saying?" Kitty asked trailing behind Evie on the stairs.  
"Hang on, Oscar." Evie put Oscar on speaker. "What did you want for dinner tonight?"  
"Lasagne?"  
"Yep, I'm happy with that."  
"Right, and since I'll be back soon, what did you want to do for lunch?"  
"Ooooooh! Let's do a picnic! It's so lovely outside!" Kitty exclaimed.  
Evie was already thinking of going outside. Might as well eat out there too.  
"Picnic? We could do some fruit and sandwiches and stuff." Evie suggested.  
"Sounds fun. I'll be back in about half an hour." Oscar ended the call.  
"We're having a picnic everyone!!" Kitty yelled out. Evie winced. 

Once Oscar had returned, he and Evie went about preparing the picnic. Just a few sandwiches, grapes, sliced apples, and some orange juice to go along with it. When everything was packed up in a basket Oscar asked where they were going.  
"How about next to the lake? It's close and there's a nice big tree near it to give us some shade." Evie suggested.  
They headed towards the lake, Oscar oblivious to the crowd following them.  
"Isn't it exciting to be going on a picnic, Lady Button?" Kitty smiled.  
"Picnic or no, she should not be exposing her legs like that!" Fanny harrumphed.  
"It is quite daring." Kitty replied.  
They reached the tree and Oscar laid out the picnic blanket for Evie. Evie noticed the one with no pants on had joined the group.  
"What's all this then?" he asked.  
"We're having a picnic!" Kitty beamed, "Care to join us?"  
"We can't eat Kitty." the Captain shook his head, "You know that."  
"It's still nice for an outing." Kitty said, her smile waning.  
Evie sat down on the blanket, feeling a bit warm in her cardigan. She shouldn't have let her visions bother her like that.  
Oscar sat on the opposite end of the blanket to her and began unpacking the basket.  
"Now, chicken and mayo or ham and cheese?"  
"Chicken please."  
Kitty rushed to grab a spot next to Evie as Oscar passed her a sandwich. Thomas rushed to Evie's other side. Robin saw this and ran over to sit behind Evie and glared at Thomas whenever he got too close.  
"Aren't you warm in that?" Oscar asked pointing to Evie's cardigan.  
"It's the only thing keeping her slightly decent." Fanny retorted.  
Evie started feeling fed up with that one. So she took off her cardigan. A small act of defiance but it felt huge to her. Fanny huffed with offence and stormed back to the house. This picnic might be nice after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment on who you want to see more of in the next chapter ^_^


	5. Food

“You’re being more quiet than usual. Anything wrong?” Oscar asked with a mouthful of sandwich.   
“I can hear them again.” Evie replied, munching on her own lunch, “Makes it a bit difficult to keep up a conversation without getting distracted.”  
“We’ll be quiet! We promise!” said Kitty.   
“I swear not a word shall pass through my lips whilst you are conversing with your brother.” Thomas sighed, shifting so he was lounging next to Evie, resting his head on his hand and gazing up at her longingly. Robin let out near silent growl at Thomas.   
Oscar nodded at Evie. But there was a question he needed to ask her. Since he drove past that place on the way home. He frowned at his lunch.   
“What’s on your mind?” Evie asked with a smile, “You’re looking like you’re trying to solve the mysteries of the universe over there.” Oscar swallowed.  
“If it gets bad again, will you have to go back?”   
Evie lost her smile. “Yes.”   
Oscar nodded again.   
“Back where?” Kitty asked desperately, “Back where!?”  
“Kitty, quiet!” the Captain sighed.   
“Good news though, “Evie piped up, “George is able to come to the house for our appointment.”  
“Are you gonna let me sit in on the appointment this time?”  
“No, Oscar. That’s not how it works.”  
“I just want to make sure he’s being professional.”  
“He is being professional. You’re just paranoid.”  
“I don’t want you to be taken advantage of. Especially by someone you’re suppose to trust.”  
“I can handle myself, Oscar.”  
“I know you can. I just want to get the first punch in if he crosses a line.”  
Evie rolled her eyes at her brother.   
“Who’s this George then?” Mary wondered.   
“Sounds like it could be a doctor.” Pat answered, pushing up his glasses by their bridge.   
“Are you sick?” Kitty worried.  
“Is it fatal?” Thomas hoped.  
Evie busied herself by stuffing her face with food. After a few more bites of his own sandwich, Oscar laid down on the picnic blanket, placing his hands behind his head. The sunlight was muted through the trees and made beautiful shapes in the shadows of the leaves.  
“Picnic was a great idea, Evie.” He smiled.  
“It was my idea!” Kitty bubbled.   
“Thanks.” Evie replied. Whether it was to Oscar or Kitty she didn’t quite know. 

Once Evie and Oscar had had their fill, they packed up the picnic basket and blanket. Evie might have started to eat quicker when Thomas broke his promise of staying quiet. It was when he tried to compose a poem on the spot that Evie declared she was full and that they should go back inside. She heard a few quiet laughs from her visions and had to ignore the guilt she felt from seeing the dejected look on Thomas’s face.   
“I’m gonna hide out in my room if that’s okay?” she said when they reached the kitchen.  
“You sure?”  
“Yeah, I just need a lie down.”  
As Evie walked up the stairs, she heard someone bounding up behind her. She turned to see if it was her brother but no, it was the cave man. She quickly turned her head forward again but he had seen her look at him.  
“Sorry about Thomas.” He grunted. Robin fell into step with Evie as she continued up the stairs.  
“He talk too much.”  
“...”  
“You like chess?”  
“...”  
“I play chess.”  
Evie reached her room and flopped onto the bed without thinking of closing the door. Robin hesitated a bit before saying, “I leave you alone.”   
Evie glanced up to see Robin had left and she sighed with relief.   
‘George is coming tomorrow.’ She thought, ‘He’ll know what to do.’

Evie woke to Oscar gently shaking her shoulder.   
“Hey sleepy.” He smiled.   
Evie shot up when she saw that is was getting dark outside. Was she really asleep for that long?  
“What time is it?” she rubbed her eyes, nearly making herself see stars.   
“Dinner time of course.” Oscar beamed, “You cooked last night so I cooked tonight. But you’ll have to do the dishes.”  
“Oh I see,” Evie remarked sarcastically, “Leave all the tough lasagna dishes for me to clean.”  
“Well, obviously!”  
The living room was set out for another movie session while they had their dinner. The beautifully cooked lasagna was dished out with some chips and a small (tiny) serve of salad. When Evie and Oscar entered the room, Evie noticed her visions waiting for her.   
“Here they are!”   
“What was she doing all day?”  
“She was sleeping. I- I mean, I assume she was.”  
Evie and Oscar took their seats on the couch and dug into their meals.   
“What should we watch?” Evie asked with chips in her mouth.   
“Don’t speak with your mouth full!” Fanny chastised.   
“I’m thinking disney?”   
“Go on then.” Evie smiled. Oscar cheered and scrolled through his hard drive for Aladdin.   
Thankfully the movie was enough to quiet down her visions while she ate her dinner. 

When dinner was done and the genie was free, Evie started to pack up the dishes. Oscar thanked her and trudged up the stairs to pass out on his bed. Evie reached the kitchen and let out a groan, seeing how many dirty dishes her brother used to make the lasagna.   
“Damn it, Oscar.” She cursed.   
“You might want to rewash the dishes your brother did last night. They are not as clean as they can be.” Fanny pointed to the drying rack. Evie looked back. Yep, they followed her. And when she looked back. Yep, those dishes were not clean.


	6. Therapy

The next morning was tough. Her brother had been called out for another job in the village. 'Old homes means old pipes.' he said.  
She had already slept through two alarms from the late night dishes she had to do. And Robin had noticed. So he decided to help her and nearly gave her a heart attack at the same time.   
"WAKE UP!!!"  
Evie yelped and jolted up right. Breathing heavily she glared at Robin.   
"You over sleep." he pointed to her phone.   
This time she did not say thank you. Looking at her phone she noticed that George was almost due to arrive.   
"Shit!" She jumped out of bed and headed straight to her luggage, rummaging through it to find something nice to wear.   
Robin left the room the give her some privacy and near ran straight into Thomas waiting outside.   
"I see now." He said coldly, "Accuse me of perversity then go on with your own sordid actions."   
"Me no perve!" Robin pointed, "Me help wake up."  
"We'll see what Pat has to say about this!" Thomas stormed off. Robin grunted at him in a 'Whatever man' way.   
Evie dressed in record time, with just enough spare to put on a bit of makeup before George was at the door.   
"Hello Evie! This is certainly a change of scenery!" he laughed as he entered the front foyer.  
"Yes, my brother is looking after it so I thought to tag along."  
"That's great." He clapped his hands together, "Is there a room ready for us?"  
"Yes, this one over here should do." Evie led George into the living room.   
"Here they are!" Pat greeted. Evie ignored.   
"Make yourself comfortable." she said, sitting on one of the couches. George sat on the opposite end facing towards her.   
"Ready to start?" he asked. Evie nodded, trying not to glance at the figures she could see in her peripheral.   
"What kind of doctor be he then?" Mary asked.  
"Oh no, not one of these buggers." Julian exclaimed.  
"So how have you been lately?" asked George.   
"Good, actually." Evie smiled, "My visions are getting easier to ignore, I think."  
"Can you see any now? Look around the room and tell me."  
"Yes, there's a view of them." Evie saw the small crowd nearby, "They seem to be interested in what we're doing."  
"Okay. Are they telling you anything?"  
"I'll tell you something!" piped up Julian, "All therapists are swindlers!"  
"Yes, one of them is not a fan of therapy."   
"Well, that's what I expected." George explained," Usually the ailment is not fond of the treatment. But I think this week, we should try something a little bit different."  
"I'll try anything."   
"We've seen how you get on with ignoring the visions. And you are doing great. But I think it's time to tackle them head on."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Talk to them. Entertain them. Listen to what they say and hopefully one of them might give a clue as to why you're seeing them."   
"Are you sure it's safe to do that?"  
"Absolutely! You're judgement has not been impaired by them. If they start telling you to set fire to things, you'll know to not listen."  
Mary winced.   
"If you're sure." Evie replied, a little hesitant.   
"If they get worse, you can always start ignoring them again. And you have my number for emergencies too."  
Just then, George's phone rang. He took one look at it and sighed.   
"I'm sorry Evie, I'm going to have to cut our session short."  
"Oh, no that's okay." Evie went to stand but George waved at her to stay where she was.   
"I'll see myself out." As he left he answered his phone. Evie only heard the first greeting as George left the living room.   
Once George was comfortably in his car, he continued chatting with his friend.   
“Yeah, mate. She’s a nutter.” He laughed down the phone, “I’m keeping her just crazy enough to need me. She pays well. And no that does not mean it's my shout tonight.”  
Evie sat on the couch, staring at her hands folded in her lap, until she heard George's car leaving the driveway.   
"Should we say something?" Kitty asked.   
"Maybe it's best to go at her pace." Pat suggested.   
"Perhaps she be frightened." Mary offered.  
"You're right."  
All the ghosts looked towards Evie.   
"I am scared." She finally looked up from her hands at them. "I'm scared that this will never go away. But I'm willing to do anything it takes to get better."  
"Well," Pat said adjusting his glasses, "we would be happy to help. In any way we can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short one, I know! Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things ^_^


End file.
